Fern Communications LTD announced that its FRX-1 Portable Repeater dramatically enhanced radio communications for personnel responsible for carrying out inspections in underground sewage and water systems in Romania.
During recent trials carried out for CSR on behalf of water and wastewater management company Apa Nova in central Bucharest, the FRX-1 Radio Repeater was placed in strategic locations where the radio signal is normally disrupted, causing a breakdown in radio communications between personnel tasked with inspecting and surveying the conditions of the tunnels and sewage pipelines. These points are known as “black spots” that typically cause radio signals to break down. However, with the FRX-1 in place, radio coverage is improved because it eliminates these radio black spots.
The trial took place in one of the many tunnels located 150 ft under the city streets of the University District. Normally, Apa Nova personnel working in this tunnel lose the radio signal completely not long after entering the tunnel. However, with the radio repeater in operation, they maintained radio signal and communication with co-workers located above ground 500 meters away.
“That Apa Nova personnel was able to maintain radio contact while in the tunnel—and from that distance —was a first,” said Raluca Niculae, economist and project manager for Centrul pentru Servicii de Radiocomunicatii (CSR). “For Apa Nova, this trial demonstrated that maintaining quality communications with personnel who are carrying out critical inspection of the sewage network and tunnels is possible.”
Apa Nova has purchased the FRX-1 as a standard component of its radio communications kit for personnel working underground. The purchase represents the first time that the system has been adopted for use in Romania.
Source: Fern Communications
